Fish In A Tin

I truly believe they are one of the world’s healthiest foods because they contain three of the nutrients Americans are often deficient in: omega-3 fatty acids, calcium and vitamin D.

VIDEOS

Sardines (and herring) are great because they are:

Inexpensive ($1 a tin for sardines packed in water, $4 or so for fancier kinds)

Shelf stable (keep them in your pantry at all times for a quick meal)

Already cooked – no dishes to wash

Full of high quality protein and good fats

A sustainable fish low in mercury (USA sardines are a best choice for Seafood Watch)

Versatile (mash them on crackers, make a salad, turn them into a sandwich spread, cook into sauces)

I first started eating sardines when I kept reading about them in health magazines as an underappreciated superfood. “If they are that nutritious I should be eating them!” I thought. I was on a tuna/salmon salad kick, so learning to like sardines was an easy crossover. I actually first tried sardines when I was in high school from a tin my dad had in our pantry. I liked them OK, but not knowing they were so healthy or creative ways to make a sardine salad, I didn’t really make them a regular staple in my diet. I believe this was my first time trying them on KERF!

Eating A Sardine

I tell people: if you like tuna salad and you like fish, you’ll like sardines. If you aren’t so hot on fish, however, you probably won’t like them. I prefer mine to be smoked (extra flavor) and I don’t eat them from the tin directly (although you certainly could). I tend to mash them up into salads, spreads and things.

Sardines are a member of the herring family so I often use sardines and herring interchangeably. Herring are a little bigger, but I can’t really tell much of a difference between them in taste. Perhaps I need to do a side-by-side taste test…

Here are what they look like when you open the tin and drain them:

You can easily flake the fish to look like chunk light tuna. I think what scares people so much about “fish in a tin” is the thought of bones. The bones of sardines are so soft and mashable they really shouldn’t even be called bones. People think of bones as pointy, stiff and dangerous to eat, but these bones are soft cartilage that gets mashed with the filets. They are where all the nutrients are! You can’t even really see them:

Don’t be scared – just watch this video for a live demo of how to make a sardine salad:

Brands

As I mentioned before, sardines range in price from $1 (or less!) a tin up to $4-5 for fancier brands.

The brand I’ve gotten most in the past is Trader Joe’s because I love the smoky flavor. HOWEVER, Seafood Watch discourages the consumption of wild caught sardines from the Mediterranean and a few of the brands I’ve enjoyed are from Europe. While I was researching this post I realized TJs sardines are from Portugal. The fish themselves are safe to eat, but the concern is the way they are caught, which leads to overfishing and putting the population at risk, so you have an environmental decision to make.

So like most other fish these days:

Pacific/USA = good

Atlantic/European = discouraged for overfishing reasons

Look at your can – the origin is required to be on there.

Trader Joe’s sardines in water are from Canada, which should be considered Pacific/USA and OK.

Wild Planet is always an easy choice for seafood, as all of their products are sustainably caught. The company send me a few coupons to try their flavors, and the olive oil flavor was great! I haven’t tried the marinara (I think I might cook them into pasta?) but I’ll let you know when I do.

This brand from Maine is fantastic!

The maple flavor is subtle (think slightly sweet & smoky bbq sauce) and the fish is flakier and less fishy than other brands I’ve tried.

Recipes

I like to chop in all kinds of veggies – carrots, celery, peppers – plus add some binders in the form of mustard, mayo, Greek yogurt and then spice things up with salt, pepper, curry powder, smoked paprika, dill, lemon juice, capers and more.

For a basic salad:

Drain your sardines and mash them with a fork until you reach a uniform consistency.

Add a quarter cup to half cup of chopped veggies

Add 1-2 teaspoons Dijon mustard

Add 1 tablespoon mayo or Greek yogurt

Add 1-2 teaspoons of seasonings to taste

Serve over greens, with chips, on a sandwich, with crackers, or simply eat with a fork.

Here is a massive list of just some of the ways I’ve enjoyed sardines and herring over the years:

Okay…I’ll do it. I will try to eat sardines. You hit the nail on the head when you mentioned the bones. I freak when I see the bones. I can’t order fish in a restaurant because if I run into a bone I can’t finish the meal. We always had the tins in the house growing up. My dad liked them in mustard sauce on saltine crackers. My sister and I would run away when he’d offer them to us. Thanks for the great post. It’s made me a bit more confident. One of the best about super foods.

I have never tried sardines by themselves before but have definitely had them atop a fancy ceasar salad and such. Maybe I need to grab some next time I’m at TJ’s or Whole Foods. We always need some more superfood in our lives.

I’ll admit it. I’m too scared to watch the video. I think my palms get a little sweaty just thinking of sardines. They’ve always been something that frightens me. I’m not a fish eater at all and I really wish I was because you’re right, the health benefits are amazing… But I can’t get past the smell and appearance… eek 🙂

I DO like sardine oatmeal! For a while it looked like “savory oatmeal” was going to be a big thing, but it didn’t get that big. Still, to me sardine oatmeal isn’t a joke, it’s warming, filling, satisfying, tasty, wholesome, healthy, and cheap. 🙂 I love it! Serious.

I’m not a huge fan of fish (even freshly caught fish) so anything like this totally freaks me out. I don’t know if I’d be able to eat a fishy little sardine. Maybe one day I’ll work up the courage ; ).

I’m so glad you wrote this post. I picked up a tin of sardines after reading about all the health benefits and wasn’t quite sure what to do with them. I will look forward to preparing a delicious lunch :)!

I think “Pacific/USA = good” is a bit confusing, as the Atlantic waters of the USA are fished as well. If Atlantic sardines are to be avoided due to unsustainable fishing methods, doesn’t that mean that not all USA fish are recommended?

It is confusing. And this was new research to me – so anyone feel free to chime in. But I think East Coast is OK – when they say Atlantic I think that includes European shores, so saying either Pacific or Atlantic from the US is what I was trying to get across.

Have to chime in because my work involves fisheries. It’s actually much more complicated than that. There are many Western Atlantic populations that are overfished as well, most notably Atlantic cod. The easiest way is to just check Fish Watch from the Monterey Bay Aquarium. They have a website, pocket guides, and even an app.

Mmm! I LOVE sardines! But I always eat them right out of the can, as is, or on crackers. I just had some for dinner last night!
I wish more people would try them, because they are so good and maybe they’d stop giving me the EEWWWW looks 🙂

I eat tinned sardines ALL the time. So easy for travel ( I am a sales rep that drives all over the place) and I don’t eat processed food from fast food places so these are perfect! After you get over the weirdness of it you will begin to love them! I even brought a bunch on a Europe trip with me so I could be sure to get some protein, fat, and nutrients in!

Thank you for this post! I have followed your fishy adventures on top of salads and ended up trying the smoked trout from Trader Joes and LOVED IT. I will try sardines now in the same fashion. Love your video- thanks for the play by play, and I love getting some of your personality through the video : )

I am wondering…have you tried feeding a little bit of mashed sardines to Mazen yet? My son (who is now 6) absolutely LOVES sardines. When we are out of sardines, and I get some at the grocery, he goes crazy, much like most kids would when you bring home candy (don’t get me wrong the kid loves candy too)! Anyway, I started giving him fish pretty young. I started with catfish at about 7 months (bear in mind my son had 8 teeth at 3 months), then salmon and tuna, and now the kid will eat any kind of seafood you offer him.

We waited until our son was old enough to communicate before we tried shellfish. He had a bad reaction to eggs about the third time he ate them, so we were a little hesitant with certain foods. He has since outgrown the egg allergy, and never had any other reactions.

With shellfish (and the other 8 common allergens – milk wheat, soy, peanuts etc) aren’t you supposed to wait until the baby is 1 year old? So that their immune system has had time to mature (to avoid potential allergies)? I start a Pediatric Nutrition class on Monday so hopefully I’ll know the answer soon…just wondered if you had been told anything related to this…?

The recommendations just recently changed. They used to say wait and suspect that might be why there are so many more allergies now. So now the recommendation is introduce early, although it’s still scary!

Really this completely depends on your child’s pediatrician and family history of allergies. We have no family history of allergies and ours still says to wait until 2 to introduce nuts and shellfish, and that early introduction has no correlation to the number of allergies; so it really all depends on what you read and who you talk to.

I have tried sardines once many many years ago and didn’t like them. However I love tuna fish. I assume tuna fish doesn’t have the same properties as sardines… Will get some sardines this weekend and give them another try

So, this feels like a silly question, but . . . I was going to try sardines a couple months ago because I’d heard about their great nutritional benefits and have a friend who swears by them. When I picked up a tin in the store, however, I saw “smoked” and put them back because I’m pregnant. Are sardines generally just smoked or are they fully cooked? I would love a low mercury option for fish salads!

My suspicion is that not only are the fish smoked, but then in a separate step they are pressure-canned. Pressure-canning sterilizes stuff, and therefore makes it so you can store it at room temp. But not an expert here!

I get them packed in olive oil and drain the oil into a bowl to make a dressing with it. Dijon, hot sauce and lemon juice whisked into the fishy oil, then pour it all back over the sardines. It’s delicious!
Great post, I wish more people would eat sardines. Or at least let me eat them without making faces!

This post has been very helpful to me, a sardine-phobe. I want to try them, I do, because of the health benefits, and I enjoy most fish. But I’ve seen them with the heads on and avoided them mostly because of that. I don’t see heads on yours! Are there certain varieties that leave the heads on? (Sorry, I just really hate fish heads!)

I’ve been considering trying sardines for a while. Haven’t tried them since I worked at Pizza Hut a million years ago. We’re headed to Trader Joe’s this weekend I will have to pick some up. Excited to try them I love tuna salad. Thanks for the info!

Kath,
Have you ever tried the Natural Sea brand? I too love sardines and this is one of my favorite brands.
These come skinless and boneless so it may be suited for someone who is turned off by the skin and bones.

I think a big reason that sardines are a generally feared food goes back to cartoons and such as kids. Don’t you remember when cartoons wanted to gross kids out they would show spinach, limburger cheese, and canned fish (like sardines and anchovies)? My first taste of sardines was eating them on a dare in high school. I was pretty grossed out until I actually took the bite and then anticlimactically was like, “Oh it’s just canned tuna… and it’s pretty good!”

My husband is Swedish, and we always make a potato dish with anchovies (and onions, cream and butter…), called ‘Jansson’s Frestelse’ or our Christmas buffet. I’m not huge on canned (or pickled) fish, but the anchovies really only give it a really salty flavor.

Well, I’ve definitely been in the sardine-phobia boat, even though I love tuna and practically all fresh fish. I did have fresh sardines once at an amazing Senegalese restaurant–tasty, but big enough that you could slice the filet off the spine like any ordinary fish. No bone intimidation there! So it looks like my next step is to go try out a can. Your salad suggestions are super helpful–I wouldn’t know where to start otherwise!

I never used to like sardines when I was a teenager. Now that I am an adult, I have fallen in love with the fish. I love it with crackers and it serves as an amazing snack. The smell can be a turn off but the taste is amazing.

Thanks for this. I’ve been wondering about your reasoning behind eating sardines and I love the convenient list of recipes all layed out for me. I’ve been wanting to get on the sardine train, so this should definitely help. I remember trying them in a class in elementary school and I was one of the only kids that liked them. I guess it’s time to try it again.

Btw, I love the new format you’ve taken with your blog. I love learning more from your dietetic education, while still getting to see your fun meals. Following your blog for the last couple years has really changed the way I eat and feed my family. I love your point of view on food and appreciate that you are not overly strict of eating this way or that way. So many food bloggers are extremely strict and judgmental so it’s refreshing to see someone who just enjoys food and health and doesn’t have an agenda. Thanks for just being you and for sharing your knowledge and views with us!

Ewwwwwwwwww. Just seeing the open tin of them drained made me want to gag. I’m not a big fish eater (will only touch cod right now) and the thought of eating sardines makes me feel sick. Yuck Yuck Yuck! I love to eat healthy though so I wish the thought of them wasn’t so gross 🙂

These look so good! I didn’t know that they were so good for you 🙂 I love fish and I’m on a canned salmon kick right now! I’ll definitely be trying these on my next trip to Sprouts or Trader Joe’s. I wonder how they would taste with avocado in a sandwich….

I never thought I could actually like sardines but they really are delicious. I always buy the wild planet varieties and decided to try to marinara on a whim. I know it sounds so gross to people but I use them to make mini “pizzas.” I use Ezekiel bread or pitas, toast them in the broiler on one side then top them with the sardines/marinara, mozzarella and sometimes onions or bell peppers. I then broil them and I think this may be my favorite way to eat them. My dad used to try to gross us out when he ate sardines and crackers but once I incorporated them into my diet I was surprised at how mild they taste. I was diagnosed with Lupus three years ago and my doctor suggested sardines to me because they are high in Vitamin B12. I didn’t think I would ever be able to stomach them but I enjoy them at least once a week now. I’ve never bought the ones packed in oil but I think I will have to try the smoked ones because those sound great.

i love sardines! i always knew they were “supposed” to be gross, but i never really thought they were very gross, so i really don’t get all the “ewwwww nasty” that everyone does about them lol. to people freaked out by the “skin,” you’re probably imagining skin like on fried chicken, which is super thick and weird, but it’s not really like that at all! you can SORT OF flake it off, but i can’t tell a difference in taste or texture.

i don’t think i knew that they are low in mercury- that’s great to know! i actually like them best straight from the tin. 🙂 the big bone (spine?) does sort of freak me out, but i just don’t look at it, and i like having the big chunks of meat. drain, squeeze some honey mustard on, and eat with toast and cheese! that with fruit/veggie is the perfect lunch! i’ve been wanting to try the maple kind since you first posted about it… yum!

That is IT Kath. I’m diving right in to the world of sardines. You’ve given me no choice 😉 I too think to myself “man, I know these are good for me and I really should eat them!” so now I’m just going to go for it. The bones are what give me the heebies. Not just with sardines. Salmon too. I’ve just got to get over it!

Okay, I’m so tempted to try sardines now…but a little hesitant. I hate tuna fish in a can but like smoked salmon…do you think sardines are more tuna-tasting or more in the smoked salmon range (if I got smoked sardines, perhaps?) 🙂

I LOVE this post, Kath! I didn’t think anyone was as obsessed about sardines as I am!! I spend A LOT of my grocery spending on sardines at Trader Joe’s. 🙂 They are so incredibly healthy, especially if you have dietary restrictions. I have Crohn’s disease and sardines are one of those rare foods I can digest and absorb all the wonderful nutrients from…plus they taste delicious!!

I bought a can from TJs a while ago – after one of your sardine posts, I believe – but I’ve yet to open the can. I brought them to work with me and, fearing my colleagues might toss me out on my keester for smelling up the floor, I never did anything with them. Then my office fridge began to smell funny and it seemed as though the can leaked or something, so I dumped em. That settled my “gosh, I really need to do something with these sardines” dilemma. However, it really didn’t solve anything because I really want to get into the swing of the sardine thing. Hmmm, maybe this weekend…

Thanks for such a helpful post. I have always loved sardines, and used to eat them plain. Your addition of Dijon mustard and yogurt makes them even better. That was my lunch today, with some rice crackers. Excellent. Again, many thanks. A tasty new way to enjoy sardines. (I do agree about adding veg., but I was running late.)

I’m typically not a fan of tuna salad, but I might have to give sardine salad a try! I didn’t realized just how good they were for you. Loved the KERF Kitchen video as well as variety of brands out there that you shared.

Love this post! #1 -My dad always ate sardines while I was growing up (in Newport News, VA)
#2-Now I love to eat sardines, though I didn’t as a child
#3-I ate them (and served them to my husband) for supper this very evening
#4-I grew up in the south and would NEVER use the word “pop” for a soft drink
#5-Now I live in the “north” (PA), where they use such strange words as “you’ns” in place of “y’all”
Q.

My dad loved sardines also. I have never tried, but reading this is helping me get ready to try. I need to have another easy, quality, whole30 compliant protein to add to my repertiore. I’m on a fresh salmon kick.. I get a whole (wild caught) salmon filet every week, bake it and usually divide into about 9 portions…easy peasy for breakfast, lunch or dinner!

I will buy sardines this weekend, and prepare to be amazed. Thank you for the reassurance and encouragement!

The poor sardine. I love the sardines and anchovies in those adorable glass jars packed in olive oil. In Sweden there a popular potato au gratin dish with herring in it. If you add potatoes and cheese, I am in!

I know that this sounds silly, but I am afraid to try sardines. I am find with eating all sorts of fish, but I shudder at sardines. Therefore I am going to grab one of your recipies and give it a go this weekend. I’ll keep you posted.

Just a comment. Salmon do not produce omega-3 fatty acids, rather they acquire it from eating other fish that contain omega-3’s, namely sardines. Sardines consume plankton and that is the source of the omega-3’s.

This post is perfect timing- I’ve been wanting to experiment with sardines but have been scared to try them because I grew up thinking they were disgusting! I really need to get over it and mashing them into salads is a great idea. Thanks!!

I love how you have such a non-picky palate! I loooooove love sardines and any kind of fish, really (the stinkier the better). So to see you feature one of my favorites (and feared by most) is pretty cool. 😀

My discomfort with sardines stems from the fact that unless you get only fillets, the fish still have their guts, correct? My understanding is only large sardines get “eviscerated”, so the smaller ones still have their digestive tracts, which are hopefully purged, but that’s not guaranteed. The idea of eating a fish’s lunch still in the fish is…..unsettling to me. Are you eating the filets only? Or are they too small for that to be a possibility?

Not sure if this was mentioned, but TJ offers a ‘boneless, skinless’ option in canned sardines… a good place to start if you are freaked out by the skin and bones! Mmmmm…. sardines out of the can, yum!

It’s amazing how you can do a lot of things to sardines! It looks delicious in all of your dishes and in all the ways you ate it. I can’t wait to try doing the sardine salad you made on your video tutorial! Thanks for sharing this, I am actually convinced in trying to eat sardines after knowing how healthy it is and that there are many ways to prepare it!

I love sardines. Mash them up with vinegar, chopped onion, salt and pepper and make a freash bread sandwich with them. Absolutely delicious. If you don’t have fresh bread then make an open toasted sandwich, also delicious.

I eat perhaps too many sardines…like 3 – 4 tins per week! I eat it all too (each tin I think is about 3-4 ounces). Just convenient in summer heat when not desiring to cook…afraid I might make myself sick of them though…their good on rice cakes with a side of avocado/veggie salad.

So it’s been awhile since I have had sardines. I can remember my mom’s quick little snack of sardines, some mustard and crackers. Happen to be in WF & sardines by Bar Harbor where on sale. Decided to to try smoked sardines over a bed of sauteed fresh spinach. Love you blog, thank you for sharing. I have learned so much about eating healthy whole food.

Great to read about sardines. I think sardines get a bit of a bad rap. A lot of people screw their nose up at the thought but they really are awesome. Lightly smoked sounds great. I’ve been messing around with the larger fresh sardines as well. Give them a try for lunch with a few veges. Healthy, filling and tasty. Massive fan

Yum ! Found appetizing assurance right here. I was having doubts about the ” disappearance” of the “risky” bones & “snaky-looking-but-filmy?!” skins in my whimsical ( 2nd time ever & not straight out of the can this time) dinner of Thai sardines mashed into blanched green peas & soy salad with spicy rice balls. A second helping is now gone … Mild on the smell & tang too. I want more !

Great post! I grew up with sardines on plain, white no-nutrition bread….still a comfort food. I forgot about them for awhile, then, not remembering the brand I grew up on, took a chance and…darned if they didn’t have their heads still on. Yeah, right in the trash as it turned my stomach. Anyway, great suggestions. I can’t wait to try the one with sauerkraut. Thanks!!

Thanks for this lively post and blog! I was reading it while preparing a tuna sandwich… The tuna never got out of the can! I took the sardine can I had bought the previous day, out of curiosity. I quickly mixed the fish with mexican salsa wrapped it in a tortilla. After tasting it, I can announce that this tuna can is going to stay in the pantry for a little while!

I’ve been super loading sardines for the past two months…gotten on a real binge kick with them for lunches. Two cans a day! Every day! NOT because they are good for me – that is an added benefit. But because they taste so yummy and are so easy and convenient to eat! Just have to keep a can of air freshener in the lounge area to keep from overly offending my colleagues. I just finished can number two and thought to see what the interwebs had to say about these awesomely tasty treats. Good find! Even though a year old, the most current sardine-centric feedback I was able to locate, so had to opine.

Wow, this is like an epiphany. I’d never realized you could mash them up with stuff. I always just put them between two slices of bread as-is and ate them that way. I think I like your way better. 🙂

By the way, if you’ve ever seen the movie “The Triplets of Belleville,” the food “Champion” eats to prepare for his race is mashed potatoes and sardines. It looks rather unappetizing in the movie, but it’s apparently actually one of the filmmaker’s favorite foods.

Bought my first sardines ever today, at Ollie’s. Mostly, I wanted to satisfy my curiosity about whether or not they were really canned “head, guts, and all” like I’d heard. But, on the shelf beside the cans, were pouches, for 59 cents, and the picture on the pouch did not include heads, and I decided I’d try headless sardines before daring to open a can. Then, I had no idea what to do with them, so Google brought me to you.
I am relieved that you have described them as a lot like tuna. I love eating the bones of canned salmon, so softened bones are no problem. I just don’t want them to look as icky as canned mackerel. I can eat mackerel – just not comfortably. And, I don’t want guts, or heads. Glad to read I probably won’t find them in the pouch, or a can.
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If the sardines taste anything like I am now imagining, I might use them to flavor bean soup. A friend doing a religious fast that did not include “meat” showed up at dinner time and I’d cooked up a big pot of unseasoned beans that were going to be divided between black bean brownies, and a nice ham flavored soup.
No ham? No ham! Maybe salmon was salty and flavorful enough to stand in for it? Tried a bite of beans with a bite of salmon. Success! The can of salmon went into the beans, juice and all. It was great!

People seem oblivious to the fact that 6 sardines to a tin was standard. What will you say when there is 2 sardines? Or perhaps 1 sardine?. Will you just blindly accept the discrepancy? How about when they just start selling you sardine juice in a tin. Wake up people. The rich are ripping you off daily. And laughing all the way.

I always eat sardines with a bit of tomato sauce on the sides, but after repeating this recipe all over I became tired of eating them, thankfully you shared some new recipes for me to try out, I’ll give this a shot when I get home, thanks again for this post 🙂

I stumbled on this post looking for new ways to eat sardines, for those of you that are afraid to try them, it is okay, I am sure that you would not like them anyways… the last thing I would want is a bunch of new sardine lovers, there would be less for me. :o) I am just kidding of course, remember you are top of the food chain so there is nothing to be afraid of, and they are so so so good. Here is one of the ways I like to eat sardine. Start with Sardines in oil, mix with a table spoon or so of minced onions and a splash of vinegar, scoop on a club cracker and enjoy.

A local store sells huge oval tins of BIG sardines for $1.29, but they are packed in insipid tomatoey goo.
To make them edible, I rinse the tomato sauce away with warm water, and break the fish up, mixing it with chopped Korean napa cabbage kimchi to taste, garnish with toasted sesame seeds and a squeeze of lime juice to brighten the flavor. This is good over hot rice and makes a quick, healthy meal.

I’m a pescatarian so fish is of utmost importance in my diet. My husband is not a Vegi~pescatarian so I need lots of help. Finding out that fish has lots of D in it well not that much but some herring is much higher 1100 IU of Vit D and Sardines canned 270 IU Vit D! I will opt for the herring bigger bang for the buck… Thanks for sharing about sardines ???? although D is a complicated vitamin to me I must become aware of other key foods to eat toto promote the dynamics between, D, A, Calcium, K2 and menaquilone … I’m reading a book called, ‘Vitamin K2and the Calcium Paradox: How a Little Known Vitamin Could Save Your Life’ have you read it and if so I’d like your thoughts on the read!
Fondly
Fonda